Kids more "at risk" from gaming devices than computers

This information is not new and has been available for some time through various online and offline sources. This seasonal time of year is the perfect opportunity to remind everyone to communicate and share the importance of security and children protecting their personal information.

Gaming devices have hard drives, voice over IP and, in the case of Nintendo Wii, even text-messaging. Kids are not only distracted while they're gaming, but they're likely to feel a certain comfort level with other players who look thier age and have avatars designed to look like a child when in fact they are full grown adults.

Parents don't often consider gaming devices to be computers but hackers have caught on. Gaming devices are now being hacked into. Avatars are being sold online on sites like eBay, thanks to the popularity of certain games and this can lead to a host of problems. Parents need to teach kids about what constitutes personal information - and how to keep it that way.

School for example is a public place yet many kids don't consider the name of their school as personal information. At one school in Las Vegas a girl had been abducted while walking to school. Prior to the abduction, she had been in a chat room, where she discussed what school she went to and how she got there.

Worst-case scenarios include cyber-stalking and child exploitation. And, "thanks to the Internet, sex abuse images can be circulated for years," said Bob Rodeghiero, detective constable with the Toronto Police Service's sex crimes unit (child exploitation section). He said a child victimized at five or six years of age may still find photos circulating on the Internet years later. "So they're victimized over and over again." Unfortunately, in some cases, kids are actively participating in this, without realizing the consequences of their actions. A young girl takes racy photos and sends them to her boyfriend, for example. Then they break up and, next thing you know, the photos are printed and posted in a locker or, even worse, distributed all over the Internet. Or, negative comments are posted on social networking sites, or sites dedicated to such things, such as revenge.com.

Some predators lie about who they are, but some don't even bother to hide the fact they're a 40-year-old man, some young girls think it's "cool" to get attention in this way. In many cases, when kids are uncomfortable with something that happened online, they just close the screen - they don't tell an adult. When they're online, kids aren't always sure where the boundaries are, and predators are always looking for the weakest link. This also applies to cyber-bullying. With traditional bullying on the playground, it was typically one against one. With cyber-bullying, however, it's one against many. It spreads rapidly and it's typically harsher, since it can be more anonymous.

Many gaming devices use Parental locks to ensure that parents still control the games, but innovative teens and even children can get past them. The problem is that parents can't safeguard their kids around the clock. Even if the family PC is in the living room, with parental controls, a kid can still take photos with a cell phone looking into a mirror and upload them to a social networking site for example or share information through Free online games or chat sites. Kids yearn to learn and experience the world around them and may crave the attention that online interaction provides but parents need to be aware and educate kids to understand the implications of their actions when they share information online.

Some tips for gaming safety:

• Know the game ratings for what your kids are playing. Just because all his friends are playing doesn't mean you have to get that game for him.
• Set a time limit for online play
• Be sure to teach privacy.  NEVER give out personal information online.
• Know your kids online "buddies".  Ensure that your child knows that internet "friends" are not necessarily who they say they are.
• Do not let kids use voice chat unless using it with someone they know in the real world
• Teach your kids to use their "WITS" Walk away, Ignore, Tell a trusted individual and Seek Help.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season

Be safe and Play safe !